Piracy attacks bigger, bolder, more violent - IMB report

Piracy attacks on the world's shipping rose by a third in the first half of this year and became increasingly violent, with pirates using machineguns, grenade launchers and other weapons, a maritime watchdog said in a report released today.

Despite the increase of such attacks off Somalia in the Horn of Africa, where piracy is rampant, and other areas, successful hijackings were down, in large part due to massive patrolling by naval fleets, the International Maritime Bureau (IMB) said.


"In the last six months, Somali pirates attacked more vessels than ever before and they're taking higher risks," IMB director Pottengal Mukundan said in a statement.